


The Edge of Dawn at the Supermarket

by mocinno (orphan_account)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Shippy if you Squint, Student!Byleth, au where grocery stores exist lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 08:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20171233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/mocinno
Summary: So, hey. It was 3AM. Maybe Claude was a tiny bit addled. But the girl singing as she worked? She was perfect.





	The Edge of Dawn at the Supermarket

Claude turned the pear in his hand, appraising each rounded side with utmost care and dignity.

Four bruises. Not awful, but it could be better. He set it down and began looking for his next fruity appointment. The only sound in the store was the buzz of cheap LED lights and the speakers faintly playing a radio of poppy tunes.

He was at his local general store, doing some light shopping. As in, it was three AM, he was dead tired, and his ”best” friend Hilda had sent him on an egregious fetch quest; normally, he would refuse such an absurd favor, but he’d lost a bet earlier in the month and had no choice.

The most surprising thing about the store was the fact that it was open. Claude had yet to see any workers; when he walked in, it looked like a ghost town.

Overhead, the song changed.

Pretty, he thought vaguely, finally settling on the perfect pear to add to his basket. But overplayed. It was in every other commercial lately.

He moved on to the next random item on the list, hairspray, with a dramatic sigh. The beauty aisle seemed miles away. Why were the fruits and face creams so distant? And why did Hilda need all of this at 3:00 AM!?

As he approached the aisle, darting between shelves of lipstick and mascara, he heard the music getting louder. A quick glance around him said there was no speaker nearby, though.

”... into the dawn, oh, I wish I could stay...” 

Someone close was singing. Whoever it was, they sounded sad. Claude dove behind a wall of makeup brushes to get a closer look.

There was a girl, about his age, maybe a year or three older, dressed in employee uniform. She was swinging her broom around as she sang, occasionally spinning around it or using it as a microphone. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating, and rubbed his eyes. Nope, it was indeed a person.

“Here in cherished halls, in peaceful days...” He realized, then, that she was singing along to the radio. Her eyes were closed as she sang, and he felt himself sinking into the music. Despite not knowing the song well beyond its earworm of a chorus, he felt like he knew exactly what she was singing about.

Listening closer, it truly was a pretty song. And her voice was practically enchanting, breathing in new life to it.

She got too into it, apparently, and bumped into a shelf. “Oh!” She cried, brushing her hair from her face. Her eyes darted around the aisle, scouting for any onlookers to be embarrassed by. She had purple eyes, Claude realized, with a stunned sort of silence. Lavender eyes and dark teal hair. An odd combination, to be sure, but not an unwelcome one.

With a proud puff of her cheeks, she continued signing with the radio, closing her eyes once more. “Daylights pass through colored glass, in this beloved place. Silver shines, the world dines; a smile on each face...” She grabbed at her chest, like she could feel the music moving her in her heart. He was half of mind to mimic her movements.

”As joy surrounds, comfort bounds,” she sang, twirling forward with her broom, toward an unassuming Claude deep in the music. She opened her eyes as she performed, “and I can feel I’m breaking free,” and realized, far too late, that she was going to crash.

“Ah!!” 

“Whoa!”

Claude shouted in confusion and stumbled backwards. His basket flew from his hands and he was knocked to the floor.

”Oh, Goddess! I’m sorry, sir,” the girl exclaimed, her face bright red with shock.

She held out her hand and lifted him up. Before Claude could respond, she began to hurriedly put his items back into his basket. After successfully replacing everything, she handed him the basket, picked up her broom, and ran at the speed of light.

Claude stared ahead of him. What had just happened? One minute he was vibing out to the radio and the girl’s voice, and the next minute he was on the ground. 

The song was still playing overhead.

_I look to you, like a red rose, seeking the sun no matter where it goes._

He looked down at his shopping list. With a massive effort, he ignored the girl to get Hilda’s hairspray. After finding the absurdly specific and long-named bottle, he began to walk the aisles of the store absentmindedly. 

He wanted to find that girl again.

It took an annoyingly long time to find everything on Hilda’s list, and when he did, he felt ready to lay down and sleep for a long, long time. A hibernation, preferably. Her list had somehow taken him around the entire store. The entire time, he hadn’t spotted the girl, but he did see another worker with the same broom.

Once he crossed off the final item on his list, he walked to the checkout area. Only one register was open. He got behind the three (three!!) other customers and pulled his phone out with his free hand.

Hilda if you say any of this is wrong I’ll kill you

violently

with a stampede

but not a cool stampede, a lame one

with like, deer

awww why would i do that? ur already being such a sweetheart doing this for me ;)

also deer r cool

ur the one who chose them as our mascot so u cant complain :p 

that was for the mythical ~Golden Deer~ though

that doesn’t make regular deer less lame

our group is cooler than that

meanie >:/

Claude tucked his phone away with a hearty sigh. He started laying his items out on the conveyor belt and saw the clerk.

The song girl. Reunited! The 3AM fog seemed to wipe away and he felt wide awake.

“Have a good night, ma’am.” She waved to the lady in front and turned to him. “Hello, sir, how was everything?” To his surprise, the girl’s voice remained steady, and her expression didn’t change. 

“Good,” Claude replied as he set down Hilda’s junk, “and I wanted to apologize about earlier.”

Her eyebrow twitched slightly. 

“I wasn’t paying attention and I bumped into you, and then you ran off before I could say sorry.”

She only nodded. “Apology accepted, sir.” So calm!! He had expected them to hit it off from there, maybe chatter a bit, but she was giving him nothing to work with. “ ... Your total is $27.39.” 

Sheesh, Hilda. He handed her a twenty and a ten, and he swore to give Hilda an earful if she was still awake.

”Have a good night, sir.” He nodded and tucked the change into his wallet.

”Actually, I was wondering.” Claude paused before picking up his bags. “When can I hear you sing again?”

”Huh?”

”I mean, you have a really nice voice. And, if it’s not overstepping... You seemed a lot more emotional while you were singing. I want to see more of that.”

”Ah.” She grabbed her left arm with her right hand and cast her eyes downwards. “I’m not good with emotions, that’s all. They... they sort of come rushing out when I’m singing. So normally I only sing at home, or when I think I’m alone."

”In short, you won’t hear me sing again.” 

“Wha-at?” Claude gasped, drawing out the sound for dramatic effect. “There’s no way. You have talent, you should show it off.”

She tucked a hair behind her ear. “Thank you, sir, but I really can’t.”

He sighed. He wouldn’t push the subject and make her uncomfortable. “At least tell me your name.”

She looked up, her expression doubtful. ”... Byleth Eisner.”

Claude made a mental note of the name. “Hey, actually.” He put a hand to his chin in deep thought. “You know the uni near here, right? Do you go there?”

”Garreg Mach, yes...?” Byleth tilted her head. “Where is this coming from?”

”Me and my friend have a GLO there, and I really think you should join.”

”G... L... O...?” She set her hands on the counter in thought.

”Y’know, like a fraternity, except we’re cooler ‘cause we’re coed. Normally there’s this big introductory process, but I’m the head, and I think you’re worthy, so I can do what I want.”

Without thinking, he took her hands in his. “I don’t know much about you, but I really think you shouldn’t waste your talents in a dinky store like this. Please?”

She looked at her hands and frowned. “I’ll think about it.”

”Great! My name’s Claude von Riegan, by the way, but Claude’s fine.” She begrudgingly exchanged numbers with him.

”What I don’t understand, though," she mumbled as she handed his phone back, "is how this has to do with my singing.”

”Oh, did I forget to mention? We’re having a music competition with two other big GLO’s at Garreg Mach coming up.” Claude spoke absentmindedly as he looped his arm through his bag handles.

”W-what...!?”

He grinned. “I’ll talk to you later, Byleth!” He dashed out of the store before she could utter a retort.

Claude hopped into his car and smiled down at his phone and the new contact. “Byleth Eisner. Notes: cute supermarket girl, will CRUSH Dorothea if she joins.” A notification appeared. Hilda, of course.

heyyy

u have the stuff yet

yep, in the car right now

thx a ton

read this though, I met this girl at the store

:?

she's super good at singing, I think we should initiate her to the Golden Deer

xcuse me

for the Heron Cup

I refuse to be crushed by the Black Eagles for the hundredth time

thats not fr a while ?

i see ur point tho

sick of getting crushed by dorothea >:////

and she's our solution!!!

get this, though, she's ALSO pretty and seems like a nice person

you trust my judgement on people, right

course ;p

whats the name

Byleth Eisner

(:0

claude thats mr eisners kid

claude whatve u done >:O

He set his phone aside and laughed. What he'd done was find a perfect candidate to finally help the Deer crush the Eagles at the Heron Cup.

He entered the Golden Deer house as quietly as possible, making sure to dodge the third and fourth steps as he walked upstairs. Three knocks at her door and he quietly slipped into Hilda's room. She was waiting for him, painting her toenails by her lamplight and bopping her head as she listened to music in one earbud.

"Thanks, sweetheart." She took the bags with a smile and immediately tucked them under her bed. As he closed the door, she whispered, "I'll text you."

He walked to the boy's section of the floor even quieter, knowing stupidly-light-sleeper Lorenz would have a fit if Claude woke him up. At last, he made it to his room. He flicked on the light, turned it off after it made him squint, and turned it back on after realizing he'd need it to change.

In his pajamas, he crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.

...

..

.

By the time Byleth was home, it was 5AM. That was just how night shift worked, but it still stung to see the sun begin to rise as she began to sleep.

She flopped onto her bed, her thoughts filled with the strange not-frat boy and his singing competition.

Her father _had_ brought her to Garreg Mach so that she could live normally, for once. Perhaps he'd support the decision.

Perhaps later. Now, all Byleth wanted to do was sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This is... really bad OTL
> 
> It’s really hard to write a character like Byleth, who basically doesn’t have a personality outside of “teacher,” in a role that isn’t “teacher.” I did my best??
> 
> I wasn’t really intending to, but I accidentally made a college au...? If I get the time I might expand this more, and maybe we’ll even get to the actual music competition. Then again, I don't know how fraternities work.


End file.
